The Swiss Stock Market Finished Sharply Higher After U.S. Jobs Report

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market finished with a substantial gain on Friday, despite a slightly weaker than expected U.S. jobs report for January. The market climbed for the majority of the session, with strength in the defensive heavyweights and the cyclicals.

U.S. non-farm payroll employment increased by 113,000 jobs in January following a slightly upwardly revised increase of 75,000 jobs in December. Economists had been expecting employment to climb by about 180,000 jobs. However, the unemployment rate still edged down to 6.6 percent in January from 6.7 percent in December. The unemployment rate had been expected to come in unchanged.

The Swiss Market Index increased by 1.22 percent Friday and finished at 8,318.60. The SMI ended the week with an overall gain of 1.6 percent. The Swiss Leader Index climbed by 0.94 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index added 1.14 percent.

Actelion advanced by 1.6 percent Friday, after it received approval for its PAH drug Opsumit in Australia. Dufry was one of the top gainers of the session, with a gain of 2.2 percent. Syngenta rose by 1.8 percent, after Bernstein upgraded its rating on the stock to "Market Perform." ??Holcim was another notable gainer, with an increase of 2.0 percent.

The index heavyweights all finished with solid gains at the end of the week. Roche led the way, with an increase of 2.1 percent. Novartis climbed by 1.1 percent and Nestle added 1.7 percent.